Featured Caregivers 2020
December Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Sara Greenway. Sara has been with the Sunny Days family for two years and seven months! She is originally from Harrisville, PA and loves to spend time with her German Shepherd, Athena. On her days off, she likes to spend time with friends and go to the movies or spend time at their family cabin.
When asked what her favorite part of being a caregiver is, Sara said “…getting to meet new people and help them.” Her advice to other caregivers would be “…have fun with your job and enjoy the time you get to spend with your clients.”
Sara was nominated by her manager because “…she is reliable and willing to learn… she is great at taking directions and the clients all love her. Sara is not only a caregiver to me, but she has also become a good friend.”
Caregivers like Sara are what make our company so special. We are so blessed to have such dedicated and loving individuals working for us.
November Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Helen McCartney. Helen has been with the Sunny Days family for three years! She’s originally from Washington, PA and spends her time with her six sons, three beautiful grandchildren, and cat named Amaya. She’s also currently homeschooling three of her children because of current events and she tries to find time to go to the gym at least twice a week.
When asked what her favorite part of being a caregiver is, Helen said “I love helping people stay as independent as possible in their own home… helping people makes me happy.” Her advice to other caregivers would be “Take your time to get to know your clients and treat them as if they were family… a simple conversation goes a long way.”
Helen was nominated by her manager for caregiver of the month because she “goes above and beyond.” Her favorite food is pizza, her favorite movies are Dirty Dancing and Grease, and her favorite music is R&B and Hip Hop. A fun fact about her is that she loves listening to music and dancing around if no one’s watching.
Caregivers like Helen are what make our company so special. We’re so blessed to have such dedicated and loving individuals working for us.
October Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Tracy Johnson. Tracy has been with the Sunny Days Family for four years and two months! She is originally from New Castle, PA and she has one son, Tre, and one dog named “Tito Jones”. She spends most of her time outside of work making music and singing in the church choir. She was nominated by her manager because… “Tracy is a great worker… never calls off… and goes above and beyond for her client. She is very dependable.”
Tracy’s favorite part about being a caregiver is getting to help clients and how well she interacts with each of them! Her advice to other caregivers would be to treat your client as if they were a family member.
She enjoys spending her free time making music and singing in the church choir. Most people wouldn’t guess that she loves to play the drums. Her favorite food is chicken wings, her favorite movie is Beetlejuice, and her favorite genre of music is Gospel.
Tracy is the perfect example of the compassionate caregivers employed by Sunny Days. We’re so thankful we have members of our team as dedicated as Tracy and look forward to many more Caregiver of the Month nominations!
September Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Hilda Ramsey. She’s been with the Sunny Days family for a whopping SIX years! She’s originally from Dormont where she raised her five children. When asked about her favorite part of being a caregiver, Hilda said “I was always told as a child that we are all connected through God, so when taking care of someone, you are never a stranger. They are an aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, brother or sister; To treat someone with these thoughts in mind, receiving a smile and thank you is the best part of my day.” Outside of work, she enjoys crocheting, knitting, reading, spending time with her grandchildren, and traveling when possible.
Hilda was nominated by her manager because “Hilda is an amazing caregiver. She is gentle and patient. She treats every client and family with grace and dignity. She always puts them and their needs before her own. She is the light in so many client’s lives. A caregiver like Hilda is rare, and I am so grateful that she is part of our family.”
Her advice to other caregivers is “To remember that our clients were once young and full of life; That they were once mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Their minds may be riddled with thoughts that no longer make sense, but still treat them with respect and dignity.”
Her favorite food is red beans, dirty rice, and fried chicken. Her favorite movie is “Dante’s Peak”, and she enjoys listening to Luther Vandross and The Commodores. A random fun fact about Hilda is that she enjoys writing short stories, and drawing.
Hilda is the perfect example of the compassionate caregivers employed by Sunny Days. We’re so thankful we have members of our team as dedicated as Hilda and look forward to many more years of her loving on her clients!
August Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, DeQuita Norris. DeQuita has been with the Sunny Days family for just over one year! She is from Farrell, PA. She spends most of her time outside of work with her three children. Anytime she gets to spend with them is great and they love doing family activities.
DeQuita was nominated by her manager because she is an integral part of her team and all her clients LOVE her. When asked to sum up her favorite part of being a caregiver, DeQuita said “…the conversations… I enjoy listening and laughing with my client, hearing them share their stories.” Her advice to other caregivers is simple… “Treat your clients like they were your own family.”
Her favorite food is a classic meal, steak, and fries. Her favorite movie is “The Mountains Between Us”, and she enjoys listening to all genres of music. Light-heartedly, DeQuita said that anytime someone asks her name, the conversation always ends up talking about “Chiquita Bananas.” And a fun fact is that she’s always positive through every negative situation, something she learned to be early on.
DeQuita is the perfect example of the compassionate caregivers employed by Sunny Days. We’re so thankful we have members of our team as dedicated as DeQuita and look forward to many more years of her loving on clients!
July Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Madelan White. Madelan has been with the Sunny Days family for just over seven years! She is from Allenport, PA and loves giving back to her community through caregiving. She lives with her husband Frank III and her son, Frank IV. They spend most of their free time taking hikes or doing other outdoor activities. Anything where they get to all be together and get outside is the perfect place!
Madelan was nominated by her manager because “…she is extremely reliable, caring, and patient… and adapts to every client’s needs when caregiving. She’s a rockstar!” When asked to sum up her favorite part of being a caregiver, Madelan said “…the gratification we receive from the family of the clients and the clients themselves. It feels awesome knowing our hard work and dedication really make a difference within the community.” Her advice to other caregivers is simple… “be kind, be courteous, and show compassion”
Something most people probably wouldn’t guess about Madelan is that she does yoga every day! Her favorite food is Primanti Brothers (who’s isn’t?!) Her favorite movie is Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, and her favorite music is anything by Pink.
Madelan is the perfect example of the loving caregivers employed by Sunny Days. We’re so thankful for you Madelan and commend you on your seven years as a part of our family!
June Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Tricia Balangue, originally from New Willmington, PA. Tricia has been with the Sunny Days family for three years and eleven months, she’s coming up on her four-year anniversary! She has three daughters, two twins (27 years old) and a 29-year-old. She’s also a proud grandma to six grandsons and two granddaughters. Not to mention, dog mom to two sweet pups!
Tricia was nominated by her manager because “she wears her heart on her sleeve and is an amazing caregiver who treats her clients with nothing but love and respect.” When asked to sum up her favorite part of being a caregiver, Tricia said “I like to help people. All of my clients have amazing stories and they are so much fun! It’s like a history lesson every day.” Her advice to other caregivers is “…treat people how you want to be treated. Kindness goes a long way. I treat all my clients like family! Remember we all have bad days and our clients do too!”
Outside of work, Tricia loves spending time with her grandkids and usually uses her days off to catch up on some cleaning and chores around the house. Her favorite food is the traditional Filipino snack, Lumpia, similar to a spring roll. Her favorite movie is a classic, Gone with the Wind, and her favorite music consists of Old Rock & Classical, in particular, the band “Godsmak”. A few fun facts about Tricia is that she loves spur of the moment fun things, she loves the outdoors, planting, and all flowers, and she knows A LOT of trivia, so she’s the person you want on your team for a trivia night!
Tricia is the perfect example of the exemplary caregivers employed by Sunny Days. We’re so thankful for you Tricia and can’t wait to continue celebrating work anniversaries with you!
May Featured Caregiver
Meet our featured caregiver of the month, Tomacina Walters. Originally from Burgettstown, PA. (Home of the ever-changing Star-Lake Amphitheater). Tomacina spends most of her time with her fiancé Dale, son Daniel, and their cat Jack. When Tomacina isn’t caring for her clients, you can find her hanging with her family having fun. She said she loves to do anything that “allows her to spend time with her family.” Tomacina loves to cook, and her family loves it too. You can often find them having a movie night right after one of Tomacina’s delicious dinners. In addition to being a caregiver and a cook, she now finds herself having to homeschool her son with the current pandemic. It’s allowed her to spend even more time with him and she’s learning all of the ins and outs of home-schooling.
A random fact about Tomacina is that she is a sci-fi fanatic and often finds herself indulging in the latest conspiracy theory, she thinks they’re exciting! She loves pineapple pizza, her favorite movie of all time is Grease, and she enjoys music from Creedance Clearwater Revival.
Tomacina’s favorite part of being a caregiver is the satisfaction she gets from helping people who can’t help themselves. She also loves the trust and freedom that come along with an outside job. Getting to work by yourself, and at all difference places… it’s nothing like an office job and she loves that!
Her advice to caregivers would be this “SHOW UP! Sometimes you’re all the clients have and they depend on you. Also, treat them like you would want your mom or grandmother treated.” Tomacina was nominated by her manager because of her tremendous work-ethic. Always willing to pick up shifts, her clients have nothing but great things to say about her, and in a time of uncertainty she always remained even-keeled and continued to put her clients first. Sunny Days is lucky to have you Tomacina, keep up the great work!
April Featured Caregiver
Michael was nominated to be caregiver of the month by his manager Donald. Donald says that Mike is a very passionate and courteous caregiver. He completes all his scheduled shifts and makes his job so easy by always clocking in and clocking out on time! (Every manager’s dream!) Mike has been known to never take a day off and is always willing to pick up extra shifts when needed. Every single one of Mike’s previous and current clients speak so highly of his values and say that it’s evident how much he loves his job through the way in which he cares for his clients. Mike goes above and beyond for each client and never will you hear him complain. He is a great example of all that Sunny Days In-Home Care stands for.
Mike has been with Sunny Days for about six months. He’s from New Castle where he lives with his girlfriend and three kids. Mike is just as passionate about his clients as he is for his own children and takes great pride in taking care of both! His favorite part of being a caregiver is being able to help clients with anything and everything they need. He said he especially loves the conversations he’s gotten to have; he’s heard so many interesting stories and has learned a lot from every one of his clients.
Mike’s advice to other caregivers is simple: “keep up the good work.” Mike is proud to work for such a wonderful company and knows that every caregiver gives each and every client their all. In his spare time Mike likes to hang out with his family and he loves taking his kids to new and exciting places they’ve never been. His favorite movie is “6 Underground” with Ryan Reynolds and when we asked him about his favorite food, he said he couldn’t pick just one!
Thank you for all of your hard work Mike! All of your clients, family, and all of those apart of your Sunny Days family are better off because we know you! Keep up the great work and we look forward to future nominations for Caregiver of the Month!
March Featured Caregiver
Jenna was referred to Sunny Days through a family friend, Melissa, who always spoke highly of her time with Sunny Days. Since then, Jenna has been with the company for a year and a half. She had just completed high school and the thought of completing another 4-8 years of schooling wasn’t appealing at the time. That’s when she realized her love of caregiving because she was already assisting her mom with her daily needs. She’s never looked back and it’s been a great fit for her ever since! Her favorite part of being a caregiver is helping others and letting them be comfortable in getting the help that they need, while also feeling like they can accomplish the world, all on their own. Her advice to other caregivers would be “…walk into work with a smile plastered on your face, and that will make your client’s entire day. When you’re walking into work with a nice attitude, they feed off that—your workplace is often their home. Leave the negativity at the door.”
She enjoys spending time with her immediate family, which consists of her mom, her sister Jessica, her brother Josh, her niece Madison, nephew Josh Jr., and their six cats. She also loves chicken, in all its forms, chicken wings, chicken in gravy, and chicken in biscuits. She said it could be her last and only food and she’d be perfectly content! Her favorite movie is a classic and guesses only some people will know about it, Pay It Forward. She suggests you watch it if you haven’t before! Lastly her taste in music expands over a wide range of genres EXCEPT for jazz, classical, and opera. A random fun fact about Jenna is that she says she’s, “not a very fun person at all actually. I’m a homebody, I’m probably one of the oldest 21-year-olds you’ll ever meet. I’d much rather stay at home with my family and our animals, rather than spend nights out on the town.”
Jenna is the perfect example of all the qualities we look for in our caregivers here at Sunny Days. We’re looking forward to the long and fulfilling career that Jenna will have here with us!
February Featured Caregiver
Meet Brandy Evans, our featured caregiver of the month!
Brandy has been a caregiver with Sunny Days for almost 4 years. When her manager was asked about her she stated, “She has independently shown and ensured that she can get the job done. Brandy is flexible and willing to work on any assignment that is given to her. She always volunteers herself to help.”
She is originally from New Castle, and has 2 sons, 3 daughters and 1 granddaughter. Her favorite part of being a caregiver is assisting elderly people. She enjoys helping them complete daily activities that they are unable to complete by themselves. She enjoys talking to them and hearing about their lives. Brandy encourages other caregivers to be compassionate and willing to adjust to different moods, wants and needs of the clients.
Outside of work, Brandy enjoys watching her kids and grandchild play sports. She also enjoys watching movies with all of them.
Favorites:
Food(s)-Pizza or chicken
Movie(s) -Waist Deep & Billy
Music-R&B
A random fact about Brandy is that she is finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Science of Humanity and will graduate this June. She is also currently doing an externship with Cray Children and Youth.
January Featured Caregiver
Meet Michelle Williams, our featured caregiver of the month!
Michelle has been a caregiver with Sunny Days for a little over a year. When her manager was asked about her she stated, “Michelle has a very strong work ethic and total dedication and commitment to her clients. She always shows up with a smile and positive attitude. She goes above and beyond for each and every client. I wish I had more caregivers like Michelle who truly care and give 110% day in and day out!”
Michelle has 4 children and 5 grandchildren. Her favorite part of being a caregiver is seeing her client’s face light up when they see her at the door. And when she leaves, she knows they are comfortable and content. Michelle encourages other caregivers to pray for patience and kindness before you go to each client’s home. Outside of work, Michelle enjoys attending church activities, cooking, and spending time with her family. She loves people.
Favorites:
Food- Seafood
Movies- Suspense
Music- Reggae